Kalymnos scooter rental, no motorcyle license

I have heard some conflicting info on this. I have an international drivers license, will I be able to rent a small scooter without a motorcycle endorsement? I have heard some places will and others won't, or that it is only required for 150cc scooters. Anyone know for sure or know which rental place to go with?

Technically not legal AFAIK, even at 50cc unless you have a moto license. Some places will still rent them, BUT apparently this invalidates any insurance coverage, and there are really steep fines if the police stop you (I seem to remember 1000 euros). I've never heard of anyone getting that fine, but have heard of people getting fined for not wearing a helmet. I've also never heard of anyone getting stopped around Masouri/Armeos. 

when I was there and rented the guy didnt ask for anything but my money. I dont have anything but a  drivers license. But they didnt ask for that even

The place I rented from let me rent a larger CC scooter because I have an international driver license with a motorcycle endorsement. But everyone else I was with could only rent cars or scooters with tiny engines. Which would be fine if there was only 1 of you on it. If you're going to try to go 2 on a scooter having the 75cc might suck.

Russ Walling wrote:

It is going to suck worse than that, since the little scooters are 50cc.  But, that being said, the 50’s will work for most of the stuff you are doing with 2 people and packs.  Some of the 50’s are dogs, and some are good enough for all the steep approaches.  Luck of the draw.

Are you saying you can fit 2 on a 50cc scooter? We were thinking of just wearing our harnesses, and put the rope on the handlebars or back

You can rent cars in Pothia for $5-10 more a day. There are a bunch of rental agencies right as you walk off the boat dock.
The rental agency mentioned that it is about $400+ fine for driving a scooter without a license. But then again, I didn't see any police officers or cars while I was there. 

C. Seaton wrote: You can rent cars in Pothia for $5-10 more a day. There are a bunch of rental agencies right as you walk off the boat dock.
The rental agency mentioned that it is about $400+ fine for driving a scooter without a license. But then again, I didn't see any police officers or cars while I was there. 

A scooter seems much more convenient for parking and also more fun, but we may consider a car. How is parking at most crags?

Russ Walling wrote:

Yes.  2 with packs.  Dude on back wears a pack. Front guy puts pack at feet or over handlebars on front.

And a rope or a small pack goes in the helmet compartment under the seat.

My wife and I rented one of the tiny scooters and it was totally fine to carry both of us and our packs EXCEPT for getting up the road from the Pirate Bar in Kalamies. Someone's gonna have to walk off those Alphas on the slog up that steep-ass hill.

FWIW, I have a US driver's license with a motorcycle endorsement, but no international license. The guy looked at my license, sighed deeply, said "don't hurt my baby," and handed me the keys.

Sam X wrote:

A scooter seems much more convenient for parking and also more fun, but we may consider a car. How is parking at most crags?

It seems like if the majority of your car is off the road you are good.. if it overlaps a little on the road, no biggie. Parking is very laissez faire.

C. Seaton wrote:

It seems like if the majority of your car is off the road you are good.. if it overlaps a little on the road, no biggie. Parking is very laissez faire.

They don't even have street names in Kalymnos, let alone parking laws. When I was there we had a group of 6, 4 in a car and 2 on my scooter. Worked out fine since I could put my pack in the car. But the car was TINY so my scooter passenger needed to wear their pack.  But I had a 150 or whatever size larger scooter.

Rental cars are stick shift FYI. If you don't have a motorcycle license I would imagine you also don't know how to drive an adult car with a stick shift ;)
My favorite quote of all time was a rental counter in Portugal. "Automatic? Is someone in your party disabled?"

The rental place had actual motorcycles I could have taken for the same price. Like with a clutch and transmission. I reluctantly opted for the more convenient scooter in case someone else needed to borrow it.

We just got back. We spoke to people who were refused a scooter of any size without a moto endorsement. We also saw people who were unable to get over the col to the secret garden on the small scooters.

We had a Fiat Panda, it was fun to drive, and had absolutely no issues with parking. It also makes it much more pleasant to haul gear with a car than on a scooter.

A big scooter will go from 15 to 17 euros/day, while two small scooters will be about 10 euro each.  ATVs and actual motos cost as much as a car. Considering that a car will run you 20 to 25 euros/day, it is a bit of a no brainer, unless you are SUPER cheap.

Per Russ Walling’s earlier recommendation to me, I second the recommendation of Kalymnos Scooter. Drosos, the owner, let us keep the car for two additional days without charge.

We also rent a car. We never have a problem parking, and it’s less of a hassle with the bags. Also, less of a Dumb and Dumber vibe. We rent from Noufris at the port — usually a Suzuki Alto. Depending on how much secret gardening we do, we usually only have to refuel once in 2-3 weeks, and sometimes only at the end of the trip. 

As an update, I tried 3 places and no one would rent to me without a motorcycle license, though I did overhear people talking that were successful without it, so maybe I just lacked confidence or got unlucky.. Got a sun compact car which was a little more expensive, but totally fine if you are comfy with manual tranny on steep narrow roads. Had no issues parking.